Sports News Roundup: Djokovic down to business as Thiem bungles Italian job; Hornets rookie G LaMelo Ball gets first career start and more

Before COVID-19 forced a rewrite of the Super Bowl program, the script called for airport photo oppportunities followed by some Opening Night zaniness to lighten the mood prior to teams getting down to the serious business of preparing for Sunday's National Football League championship game. NFL: Gronkowski, Kelce set for Super Bowl clash of transformative tight end talent On the field, Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski and his Kansas City Chiefs counterpart Travis Kelce are fierce NFL rivals.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Djokovic down to business as Thiem bungles Italian job

Novak Djokovic kicked off his 2021 season in style on his favourite Rod Laver Arena court with a clinical 7-5 7-5 win over Canadian talent Denis Shapovalov in the ATP Cup on Tuesday. Leading Serbia's title defence in the team-based event, Djokovic was thrilled with his form in the Group A clash, a rematch of last year's quarter-final against Shapovalov.

Hornets rookie G LaMelo Ball gets first career start

Charlotte Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball will get his first NBA start Monday in a road game against the Miami Heat. The 19-year-old, who was the third overall draft pick in the most recent draft, is getting the opportunity with Terry Rozier out because of a sprained right ankle.

Pistons-Nuggets game postponed just before tipoff

The Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets had their game Monday night at Denver postponed at the last minute because of COVID-19 concerns with the Pistons. The announcement was made just before the 7 p.m. local time opening tip between the teams.

NFL: All business no buzz as Super Bowl week gets off to quiet start

The first signs that this is going to be a very different Super Bowl week came early on Monday when the usually glitzy Opening Night festivities were replaced by a dry mid-morning kick-off to U.S. sport's biggest party. Before COVID-19 forced a rewrite of the Super Bowl program, the script called for airport photo oppportunities followed by some Opening Night zaniness to lighten the mood prior to teams getting down to the serious business of preparing for Sunday's National Football League championship game.

NFL: Gronkowski, Kelce set for Super Bowl clash of transformative tight end talent On the field, Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski and his Kansas City Chiefs counterpart Travis Kelce are fierce NFL rivals. Off the field, however, there is nothing but love between the two 31-year-olds.

Patrick Reed climbs into automatic Ryder Cup spot "Captain America" currently holds one of the six automatic spots on the 2021 United States Ryder Cup team following his victory at the Farmers Insurance Open. Patrick Reed climbed five spots to No. 6 in the U.S. team rankings while also returning to No. 10 in the official world golf rankings.

ATP roundup: Lorenzo Sonego falls at Murray River Open Wild card Jason Kubler defeated ninth-seeded Lorenzo Sonego on Monday on the opening day of the Murray River Open in Melbourne, one of two warm-up tournaments in action ahead of the Australian Open. Kubler, who is from Australia, defeated the Italian 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. No. 11 Marin Cilic of Croatia also fell in his opener to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8).

NFL: After Bucs' ups and downs, Evans savors 'unbelievable' run to Super Bowl Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans knows how to play the waiting game. Drafted by the Bucs in the first round in 2014, Evans endured losing seasons for five of his seven years in the league despite putting up 1,000 or more receiving yards every season.

WTA roundup: Serena Williams breezes in Melbourne Serena Williams breezed to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Australian Daria Gavrilova on Monday in the second round of the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne, Australia. The fifth-seeded Williams needed just 1 hour, 34 minutes to dispatch Gavrilova.

NFL: Chiefs' Mahomes preparing for Super Bowl and fatherhood Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said that while he is working to be the best quarterback he can be in Sunday's Super Bowl, after the game he will turn his attention to training to be a first-time father. Mahomes and fiance Brittany Matthews announced in September that the high school sweethearts were expecting their first child.